Malami rejects EFCC’s duplicate Abacha loot recovery allegation

Former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has strongly refuted allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he duplicated the recovery of the $310 million Abacha loot—an amount that rose to $322.5 million with accrued interest as at the time of repatriation.

In a detailed statement, Malami said the anti-graft agency informed him that its inquiry was based on suspicions that he abused his office and engaged in money laundering by purportedly reprocessing an already completed recovery.

According to him, the EFCC claimed that a Swiss lawyer, Enrico Monfrini, had fully recovered the funds before his assumption of office in 2015 and that Malami allegedly reintroduced new lawyers to obtain kickbacks.

Describing the allegations as “baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance,” Malami said the accusations collapse when weighed against documented facts and “elementary logic.”

Malami explained that no part of the $310 million (later $322.5 million with interest) had been lodged into Nigeria’s Federation Account as of 2016, which legally meant no recovery had occurred.

“Recovery of illicit funds is only completed upon actual lodgement into the Federation Account. As at 2016, there was no such lodgement. Therefore, there was nothing to duplicate,” he stated.

He described as “illogical” the EFCC’s narrative that Monfrini had already recovered the funds, given that the same lawyer formally applied in December 2016 to be engaged for the recovery—two years after he was allegedly done with the assignment.

According to Malami, Monfrini demanded a $5 million upfront payment and a success fee initially set at 40 percent of the recovered sum, later reduced to 20 percent. These terms were rejected based on the Buhari administration’s policy that no recovery agent would be paid upfront and that success fees must not exceed 5 percent.

Instead, a Nigerian law firm was hired on a transparent 5 percent all-inclusive success fee. Malami said this decision saved Nigeria between 15 percent and 35 percent of the asset value, amounting to between N76.8 billion and N179.2 billion at current exchange rates.

“These are concrete, measurable benefits to the Nigerian state,” he noted.

Malami emphasized that the $322.5 million repatriated from Switzerland in 2017–2018 was deployed through the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), specifically Conditional Cash Transfers to poor Nigerians, under World Bank and civil society monitoring.

He also highlighted the separate recovery of $321 million from Jersey in 2020, jointly facilitated with the United States and Switzerland, and allocated to major infrastructure projects such as the Second Niger Bridge, Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, and the Abuja–Kano Road.

“Any attempt to conflate these distinct recoveries or portray a lawful, cost-saving process as duplication is misleading,” he said.

Malami thanked supporters across the country for their encouragement, alleging that the investigation forms part of a “political witch-hunt.”

“I remain confident that truth, law and reason will ultimately prevail,” he said.

He concluded that the accusations of money laundering and abuse of office concerning the Abacha loot were unfounded and not supported by any credible evidence or logic.